Mail-bag catcher.



U. R. FEIST. MAIL BAG GATGHEB. APPLICATION FILED our. 12, 1908.

Patented May 9, 1911.

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MAIL BAG GA'IOHER. APPLICATION FILED OUT. 12, 1908.

991,838. Patented May 9, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

CHARLES R. FEIST, F EASTON, MINNESOTA.

MAIL-BAG- GATCI-IER.

Specification of Letters Patent. 1

Patented. May 9, 1911.

Application filed October 12, 1908. Serial No. 457,282.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES R. FEIsr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Easton, in the county of Faribault and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bag Catchers, of whi ch the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in mail bag catchers for railroad cars its object being to provide a simple and improved form of apparatus for both delivering mail bags to the car and for receiving mail bags from the car while the train is traveling, its object being further to provide a device which will be reversible so as to operate from either direction.

To this end my invention consists in the features of construction and combination hereinafter particularly described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a car partly broken away showing my apparatus in connection therewith with certain looking dogs removed, Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus broken away, Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a portion of the member arranged upon the ground alongside the track, Fig. 4 is a top view of Fig. 3 broken away, Fig. 5 is a top view of the car support-ed member, Fig. 6 is a. sectional view through a portion of the car supported member, Fig. 7 is a detail view of the members of the catcher in approaching position, Fig. 8 is a similar view of the members in engaging position, Fig. 9 is a similar view of the members about to be disconnected to transfer bags from mem her to member, Fig. 10 is a section on line cem of Fig. 7, and Fig. 11 is a detail of the bag.

In the drawings A represents a mail car with an arrow 2 indicating the direction of travel.

B represents one of the bag catcher members secured to the car across the doorway and C the cooperating member arranged on the ground alongside the track. The member B consists of arms 3 having pivotal sup port 1 upon the outside of the car at one side of the doorway, the outer end of the arms 3 having hinge connect-ion 5 with an arm 6 which in turn has ball and socket connection 7 with the car at the opposite side of 55 the doorway. The ball and socket joint carries a spindle 8 extending into a groove 9 in the adjacent end of the arm 6 and is held from displacement by means of a pin 10 extending through the arm and into a groove 11 in the end of the spindle. A. spring 12 is arranged between the end of the armfi and the ball and socket. The spring 12 acts as a buffer to take up any strain or shock imparted to the arm 6, the slidable connection between the spindle 8 and arm allowing relative movement.

Removably secured upon the outer ends of the arms 3 as by means of bolts 13 are the plates 14, the plates being each formed upon one side with a hook 15 and upon its opposite side with an opening 16. In connection with the hooks 15 I arrange dogs 17 having pivotal support 18 upon the plate and being held normally across the openings in the hooks by means of springs 19. In connection with the openings 16 I similarly arrange dogs 20 having pivotal support 21 on the plate and being normally held across the openings by springs 22.

Arranged to cooperate with the catcher B is a catcher C comprising a standard 23 upon the upper end of which the horizontal arms 21 have rotatable support 25. The rotary movement of the arms upon the standard is limited by means of a. curved guide 25 extending slidably through a vertical cross bar 26 connecting the arms, the guide being connected at its outer ends with a horizontal cross bar 27 fixed to the rear of the standard 23. Coil springs 28 surround the guide between the cross bar 27 upon opposite sides.

of the cross bar 26 and the bar 27. Bemovably secured upon the outer ends of the arms 23'by means of pins 29 are plates 30 each plate being formed with a hook 31 upon its inner side and an opening 32 upon its outer side. A dog 33 has pivotal sup port 31 on each plate in connection with the hook 31 to close the opening inside said hook, being held in normal or closing position by a spring 35. Similarly a dog 36 has pivotal support 37 upon each plate and is normally held across the opening 32 by a spring 38.

D represents a mail bag formed upon one side with an opening 39 to receive a rod 10. The bag may be supported between the plates of either catcher by extending the rod through corresponding openings 1n the plate, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the head 41 of the rod will rest upon the upper plate.

In operation, with the car moving in the direction shown in Fig. l the mail bag to be delivered from the train will be supported in the openings 16 and the mail bag to be received will be supported in the openings 32 of the device C. Fig. 7 shows the devices coming together and Fig. 8 shows them as they meet. In the meeting position shown in Fig. 8, the rod of the bag carried by the catcher B will pass within the openings inside the hooks 31 past the dogs 83 and the rod of the bag carried by the catcher C will pass within the openings inside the hooks 15 past the dog 17. The continued movement of the train will carry the devices past each other as indicated in Fig. 9 the hooks 15 carrying the bag of the catcher C away from the catcher B and the hooks 31 carrying the bag of the catcher B away from the catcher C. in both instances the bags will be held within the hooks by means of the dogs 17 of the catcher B and the dogs 32 of the catcher C. It will be understood that the springs of the dogs give sufliciently to allow the rods 41 to pass the dogs. The shock caused by the impact is taken up in the catcher B by the slidable spring joint between the arm 6 and its adjacent support on the car and in the case of the catcher C is taken up by the springs 28 which allow the necessary amount of movement of the catcher C as the catchers travel past each other.

I claim as my invention:

1. Mail bag catching and delivering apparatus comprising a pair of bag supporting arms, one of said arms being secured upon a car structure and the other arranged at a railroad station, each of said arms having on the side toward the other arm means for catching the mail bag to be received by it, and having on the other side away from the other arm means for holding a mail bag to be delivered by it, and a yielding support for the free end of the car carried arm.

2. In an apparatus of the class described,

a car structure for carrying mail bags comprising arms projecting from the car and terminating in interspaced plates formed upon opposite sides with bag holding means, buifer means for said plates, yielding arms arranged in the path of said car structure, inter-spaced plates carried by the ends of said arms and bag holding means upon opposite sides of said plates, for the purpose set forth.

3. In a device of the class described, a car structure for carrying mail bags, comprising swing arms projecting from the car and terminating in a pair of reversible interspaced plates, said plates being formed with bag supporting means upon opposite sides, arms having yielding spring support'in the path of said car structure, and reversible plates supported on the ends of said arms, said plates being formed upon opposite sides with bag support-in means, for the purpose set forth.

4-. In a device of the class described, a car structure for carrying mail bags com prising yieldingly supported hinged arms projecting from the car and terminating in interspaced reversible plates, said plates being formed upon opposite sides with bag receiving slots, yielding dogs in connection with said slots, yieldingly supported swing arms in the path of said car structure, plates reversibly supported on the ends of said arms, said plates being formed upon oppo site sides with bag receiving openings, and yielding locking dogs arranged in connection with said openings, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses CHARLES R. FEIST.

Witnesses ARTHUR P. LOTHROP, H. S. JoHNsoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained. for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

